Back when gay rights advocates were first pushing for gay marriage, they claimed that they only wanted equality and that no one would be compelled to participate in gay marriage events.They lied.As soon as gay marriage went on the books, and in some states where it wasnâ€™t even on the books, religious bakeries and photographers were assaulted with demands that they participate in gay ceremonies, sued if they didnâ€™t and ordered to take part in gay ceremonies or face finesâ€¦ and even jail time.States have responded by trying to pass measures that will protect religious freedom and freedom of...

Government ministers of Scotland are demanding that Catholic schools must be forced to teach students about same-sex marriage and about sex clinics which provide contraception, according to The Scottish Express. A government spokesperson reportedly said, “Denominational schools, like any other local authority schools, are subject to inspection by Education Scotland on the quality of their learning and teaching.” Michael McGrath, director of the Scottish Catholic Education Service (SCES), was quoted as saying, “The SCES has encouraged the Scottish Government to move beyond the grudging tolerance which this draft and the original guidance showed towards the right of Catholic schools to...

Recent events have not been kind to the radical homosexual lobby and its efforts to impose "homo-normalization" onto America. For years, Big Gay has given the appearance of being an unstoppable juggernaut as it rolled from one court victory to the next, leaving behind it a wreckage of ruined lives of people who had the temerity to not show enough deference to the gay agenda. Yet, there are a few recent signs that this might be changing. It brings up the question, "Are average, everyday Americans finally tired enough of being bullied, hectored, accused, attacked, shouted at, threatened, and otherwise...

On September 18, the Obama Labor Department announced that married same-sex couples must receive the same pensions, 401(k)s, health plans, and employee benefits as heterosexual married couples, regardless of whether they live in one of the 37 states where same-sex marriage is illegal. "This decision represents a historic step forward toward equality for all American families," said Labor Secretary Thomas Perez. "I have directed the department's agency heads to ensure that they are implementing the decision in a way that provides maximum protection for workers and their families." The Labor Department said its interpretation "provides a uniform rule of recognition...

In May, TheBlaze told you about Aaron and Melissa Klein, owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa, an Oregon-based bakery that has fallen under intense scrutiny. Throughout 2013, the Christian couple and their business have been in the midst of a media firestorm after refusing to make a wedding cake for a lesbian couple. From threats to vicious phone calls and e-mails, the Klein family has been inundated with angry responses. Now, Aaron and Melissa have announced that they are shutting down their shop. In a brief phone interview earlier this month, Melissa told TheBlaze that the couple has continued to...

Once more we learn of military personnel being punished for causing homosexuals in the military to feel bad. From Fox News: An Army chaplain’s assistant said she was accused of creating a “hostile and antagonistic” environment after she posted a message on her personal Facebook page calling homosexuality a sin. The soldier, who asked not to be identified, said her commander ordered her to either remove the Facebook message or face a reduction in rank and pay. “I haven’t taken it down and I won’t take it down,” she told Fox News. “It is frustrating that people are trying to...

Wealthy gay dad, Barrie Drewitt-Barlow, says he and his civil partner Tony will go to court to force churches to host gay weddings. He told the Essex Chronicle that he will take legal action because “I am still not getting what I want”. A Government Bill legalising gay marriage passed Parliament recently but it included measures to protect churches from being forced to perform same-sex weddings. Challenge Mr Drewitt-Barlow said: “The only way forward for us now is to make a challenge in the courts against the church. “It is a shame that we are forced to take Christians into...

Recently both President Obama and members of the Supreme Court gave support to the argument that the very idea that marriage is only between a man and a woman—central to the Judeo-Christian belief about marriage, as well as every culture on this planet up until recently—manifests hatred and bigotry toward people with same-sex attractions. Writing the majority opinion for the Supreme Court’s decision in US v. Windsor last month, Justice Anthony Kennedy claimed that the legislators who passed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in 1996—which defined for purposes of the federal government that marriage is only between a man...

Tony Miano, a retired deputy sheriff from Los Angeles County, Calif., was arrested in London, England, earlier this week for preaching on abstaining from sexual immorality, both heterosexual and homosexual, in downtown Wimbledon. He was found to be in violation of Public Order Act Section 5, for "using homophobic speech that could cause people anxiety, distress, alarm or insult," Miano said in a YouTube video posted on Wednesday. Preaching from 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12, Miano spoke about sexual sins for 25 minutes before being cut off by Metropolitan Police officers who said that although preaching in itself is not an offense,...

Two men were arrested Sunday for attacking Christian street preachers at a gay pride festival in Seattle. A video shows the two Christian preachers actively avoiding a man who had approached them in a menacing manner. After members of the NOH8 crowd ripped the protesters’ signs down, at least one of the two Christian preachers was apparently punched repeatedly before police arrived and made two arrests. At least one of the two suspects has been in trouble with the law before:

Of everything I've read surrounding Jason Collins, the NBA center who came out publicly as gay Monday, this column by The Chicago Tribune's Steve Rosenbloom is by far the most disgraceful piece of yellow journalism I've come across yet. Nothing blossoms the left's fascist streak faster than their own sense of puffed up sanctimony, and it is pretty obvious Collins's decision to come out has Rosenbloom puffed up in nine different ways. In a Tuesday column, Rosenbloom publicly "outed" Chicago Bears linebacker Lance Briggs for having the gall to not express an opinion on the Collins episode. Apparently, a number...

As California Mandate Looms, Some LGBT Curriculum Already In Place By Debra Goldschmidt In 10th grade English at Los Angeles’ Grover Cleveland High School, Danielle Taklender's students read the book "Luna" by Julie Anne Peters. It's a story about a transgender teen. Taklender has been teaching the book for seven years without any fanfare or push back. It’s getting noticed now as her school district takes the lead in developing a plan to comply with the first state law mandating lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender history and social science curricula. The California law, which takes effect in January, stops short...

WASHINGTON, D.C. December 8, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In a speech designed to convince the world that “gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said religious objections to homosexuality should not stand in the way of vigorous United Nations action to promote the homosexual rights agenda. On Tuesday, Clinton said promoting the global acceptance of “gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people” is “one of the remaining human rights challenges of our time,” likening the effort to ending racial, sexual, or religious discrimination. She noted that perhaps the “most challenging issue arises when...

This is guest post by Rev'd Julian Mann:If the Church of England is to avoid substantial numbers of its clergy being prosecuted under the Equality Act, it could have to stop registering marriages when Parliament legislates for same-sex marriage. That is the clear implication from the commendably candid briefing the Church House Legal Office has just given General Synod members. The advice is clear that Anglican parish churches are no more required under the Equality Act to register civil partnerships than gentlemen’s outfitters are required to sell women’s clothes. But 'if Parliament were in due course to legislate for same...

The Obama administration is announcing a wide-ranging effort to use U.S. foreign aid to promote rights for gays and lesbians abroad, including combating attempts by foreign governments to criminalize homosexuality.

ALBANY, NY - A state Supreme Court judge in Livingston County has ruled that a lawsuit challenging the state's same-sex marriage law can proceed. The judge raised questions about whether the June vote to legalize same-sex marriage violated the state's open meetings law. The decision, dated Nov. 18 by Judge Robert Wiggins, took issue with a variety of procedural steps taken by the Senate and Gov. Andrew Cuomo when the June 24 vote was held. The measure passed 33-29, and Cuomo quickly signed it into law.Wiggins, a Republican judge in the rural county outside Rochester, said the Monroe County-based group...

In a deep bow to the homosexual lobby, a small army of Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives has introduced legislation that would extend employee benefits to the same-sex partners of federal workers. Under H.R. 3485, homosexual partners of federal employees would be eligible for such benefits as retirement, life insurance, health insurance, workers compensation, and death benefits. “The federal government must set an example as an equal opportunity employer,” the bill’s sponsor, lesbian Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) was quoted by The Hill as saying. “If we are to treat all federal employees fairly and recruit the best and...

NEW YORK, NY, November 25, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In the aftermath of the legalization of gay â€śmarriageâ€ť in New York state, some commentators had wondered why, despite their leadership role in the fight against the law, the stateâ€™s Catholic bishopsâ€™ efforts had ultimately seemed so strangely half-hearted, given the high stakes. One of these was gay activist Terence Weldon. Writing after the vote at the blog â€śQueering the Church,â€ť he said: â€śthe really interesting thing about the Catholic bishops and NY gay marriage is not how vigorously they fought against it (as the headlines would have it), but how lukewarm...

After introducing its first openly gay character in September 2010, Archie Comics continues to lead the pack with the mainstream comic book world’s first same-sex marriage. Kevin Keller will marry his military sweetheart, Clay, in an upcoming issue of Life with Archie. The character is also set to star in a pioneering solo title starting this February. An interracial same-sex marriage between two soldiers in an Archie comic? The times are no longer a-changin’, they are a-changed.

Gay Marriage Could Bring Shifts In Republican Race Republican presidential candidates are joining New Hampshire's intensifying gay marriage debate — whether they like it or not. State lawmakers plan to take up a measure to repeal the law allowing same-sex couples to wed and a vote is expected at some point in January — the same month as New Hampshire holds the nation's first Republican presidential primary contest. Already, candidates have been put on the spot over the divisive social issue when most, if not all, would rather be talking about the economy, voters' No. 1 concern. The impending focus...

BOSTON, November 17, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Massachusetts legislature has passed a bill that elevates cross-dressing or transgendered individuals to a protected class, and grants universal access to sex-segregated areas such as bathrooms based on personal â€śgender identity or expression.â€ť The measure, known as the â€śTransgender Equal Rights Billâ€ť (H. 502 in the House and S. 764 in the Senate) passed the upper chamber on Wednesday in a voice vote. Itâ€™s unclear when the bill will receive final approval votes and be signed into law by Democrat Gov. Deval Patrick, a strong gay rights supporter. The bill inserts â€śgender identityâ€ť...

GRASSTOPSUSA.COM - GIVE YOUR VALUES A VOICE In an email today, Chris Carmouche of GrassTopsUSA.com reports that the same sex marriage bill could have died in Senate Judiciary Committee, if not for the complicity of every Republican member. The Republicans on that committee are: Chuck Grassley (Iowa) - Ranking Member Orrin Hatch (Utah) Jon Kyl (Arizona) Jeff Sessions (Alabama) Lindsey Graham (South Carolina) John Cornyn (Texas) Michael Lee (Utah) Tom Coburn (Oklahoma) Here's the bulk of the email: GOP Senators Who Voted For Gay Marriage Before They Voted Against It So-Called "Homosexual Marriage" May Now Become The Law Of The...

The state Senate followed the House this morning in passing a transgender civil rights bill. Unlike the House, where the bill drew vocal opposition, the Senate passed the bill by voice vote with only one speaker, the sponsor. Governor Deval Patrick said Tuesday that he would sign it. “Sure,” Patrick told reporters. “I think we have hate crimes on the books today. They, in the case of transgender people, don’t go far enough.” The bill would protect transgender people in housing, credit, and the workplace, and would include transgender people under hate crimes protections. Opponents have called the bill an...

The BBC's Business Editor Robert Peston has dismissed homophobia claims against him as 'bonkers', after he used the term 'Queer Street'. Mr Peston used the term on his blog to describe the European financial crisis. He also posted a link to the blog on his Twitter account, where he has 95,000 followers. In praising the UK's handling of the situation, he wrote: 'The Debt Management Office, has taken a reassuringly long-term approach to managing the UK government's debts - and without its prudence, we might all be in Queer Street or Skid Row by now.' However, Mr Peston was criticised...

BOSTON (BP) -- Some of the nation's top companies such as Google, CBS, Starbucks and Nike have joined forces in a legal brief asking a federal court to force the federal government to recognize gay "marriage." The friend-of-the-court brief asks the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold a 2010 lower court ruling that struck down part of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act. In that ruling, Judge Joseph L. Tauro said the federal government must recognize gay "marriages" from such states as Massachusetts, Vermont and the other four states where it's legal. In essence, the brief argues, the...

Having forcibly – and understandably – rectified the Versailles-type injustices and humiliations foisted on the homosexual community, the UK’s victorious Gaystapo are now on a roll. Their gay-rights storm troopers take no prisoners as they annex our wider culture, and hotel owners (here) and (here), registrars (here), magistrates (here), doctors (here), counsellors (here) and (here), foster parents (here), grandparents (here), adoption agencies (here) and traditional street preachers (here) and (here) find themselves crushed under the pink jack-boot. Thanks especially to the green light from a permissive New Labour government, the gay Wehrmacht is on its long march through the institutions...

Incumbent Rose Marie Belforti on Tuesday won re-election as town clerk in Ledyard in a race that divided townspeople and drew national attention over her refusal to issue marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples. Belforti, a Republican, defeated Ed Easter, of Aurora, who launched a write-in candidacy some six weeks ago after learning of his opponent’s stance against the state’s recently passed Marriage Equality Act. Belforti’s position polarized residents in this mostly rural town of about 1,900 residents on the east side of Cayuga Lake. The township includes the village of Aurora, home to Wells College. By mid-afternoon nearly...

The president of Ghana is leading the charge as several African countries are making their stand against Britain’s threat that they either legalize homosexual acts or be excluded from financial aid. “I, as president of this nation will never initiate or support any attempts to legalize homosexuality in Ghana,” said President John Evans Atta Mills in an official statement to the UK government under Prime Minister David Cameron last Wednesday. Ghanaian President John Evans Atta Mills At the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth, Australia at the end of October, which Prime Minister Cameron attended, the issue of homosexuality...

BOSTON, November 7, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A lawsuit that could nullify the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) has received the support of major U.S. corporations, who filed a brief opposing the law in federal court this week. A friend-of-the-court brief filed last Thursday in the case of Commonwealth of Massachusetts vs. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services argues that DOMA, which protects marriage as between a man and a woman in federal law, imposes crippling burdens on employers. Seventy employers are represented in the brief, including Microsoft, Starbucks, Google, NIKE, Levi Strauss and Co., CBS, Aetna, Blue Cross...

As a transplanted Michigander, I’ve always maintained pride in my home state. I’ve only owned American cars. I believed in the Lions even during the really dismal years. I still point to my hand to show people which part of the state I’m from. But the Michigan legislature is doing its best to make me hang my head in shame. On Wednesday, the Republican-controlled state senate passed an anti-bullying bill that manages to protect school bullies instead of those they victimize. It accomplishes this impressive feat by allowing students, teachers, and other school employees to claim that “a sincerely held...

Microsoft and Starbucks are among 70 corporations, financial institutions, medical centers, and other major organizations that have signed on to a friend-of-the-court brief in support of a challenge to the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).The organizations are, or represent, major employers who argue that DOMA imposes significant administrative costs, and that it harms their ability to attract and retain talent."Microsoft has joined dozens of corporations, organizations and governments in support of a challenge on constitutionality grounds to the federal Defense of Marriage Act, known as DOMA," the company said in a statement. The amicus brief "points out the significant...

House Democrats File Brief Against DOMA The amicus brief filed by 133 Democrats, including the party’s top leaders, maintains that Congress hastily passed legislation during President Bill Clinton’s presidency to limit who can marry and asserts that the law is unconstitutional. The brief was filed in a consolidated court case being considered in the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, although a release said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and other top Democratic leaders who oppose the law will file similar briefs in other pending court cases.

House Democrats today filed a brief in support of a legal challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act, the 1996 law that defines marriage as between one man and one woman. The amicus brief filed by 133 Democrats, including the partyâ€™s top leaders, maintains that Congress hastily passed legislation during President Bill Clintonâ€™s presidency to limit who can marry and asserts that the law is unconstitutional. The brief was filed in a consolidated court case being considered in the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, although a release said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and other top Democratic leaders...

Adrian Smith, a 54-year-old father of two, posted on his private Facebook account that he disapproves of gay marriage because of his Christian beliefs. He wrote that allowing homosexuals to wed would be "an equality too far." It is important to point out that the comment could only be viewed by Mr. Smith's confirmed friends on Facebook, and was not public. Instead of being allowed to voice his right to free speech, he was brought in front of his employers, the Trafford Housing Trust in Greater Manchester. They declared that he was guilty of "gross misconduct." As a consequence, they...

A block thrown through a home window. Cars vandalized. Hate-filled anonymous phone calls at home and work. Swastikas scrawled on houses of worship. Physical assaults. Dismissal from employment because of political views. Are these examples of retaliation against civil-rights activists in the South in 1954? Attempts by an authoritarian government to quash dissent? No, this is the sort of intimidation that Americans who support marriage as the union of a man and woman can face today. Persecution of opponents is becoming a tool of the trade for some gay-marriage activists, who -- ironically -- seem to view themselves as beacons...

Who can say "gay" isn't okay in New Jersey? Judging by Gov. Chris Christie's actions, teachers can't. Christie told CNN's Piers Morgan on June 15 that he doesn't think homosexuality is a sin even though his religion does. To be sure that the citizens of New Jersey are aware of Christie's beliefs, the interview and transcript are posted on the official New Jersey website. Okay, that's his opinion. But read on. New Jersey high school teacher Viki Knox may have been inspired by Christie's comments to think that it was okay for a New Jersey public employee to express an...

Those of you who regularly tune in to this radio broadcast are not surprised when I say America has been taken over by communists, and along with the rest of the world, is spinning down into the hellish abyss of the Last Days foretold in the Bible. Satan’s global regime is smoothly working its sinister way into place, and the days ahead will grow ever darker. I know there are many, many people who do not want to hear such words and do not believe what I say is true. There are many people who are content to keep their...

SANTA ANA, Calif. — When it comes to polls about same-sex marriage, it's all about how you ask the question. A new national poll by Lawrence Research found that 64 percent of Americans feel that marriage should only be between one man and one woman. Thirty-three percent feel marriage should be redefined to include any two people. The poll results may seem to contradict a Gallup poll in May that found 53 percent of Americans thought "marriage between same-sex couples should … be recognized by the law as valid, with the same rights as traditional marriage."

Gay Military Personnel Ready for First ConventionOutServe Leadership Summit brings together leaders from 48 chapters around world Lisa Leff - The Associated Press October 14, 2011 SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- The nation's only professional group for active-duty gay military personnel is holding its first conference in Las Vegas this weekend, an event only made possible by the recent lifting of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that prohibited gay and lesbian troops from serving openly in the armed forces. The OutServe Leadership Summit is designed to highlight the diversity of gays in the military and the challenges they face, and...

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The widening campaign by gay rights advocates to promote same-sex marriage as a civil rights issue is forcing Catholic and other religious institutions to confront charges of intolerance and discrimination. Also at risk, say church officials working on the legal front, is the way religious institutions and individuals opposed to same-sex marriage conduct business from hall rentals to receiving government contracts for social services. Recently, the Diocese of Peoria, Ill., withdrew from all state-funded social service contracts, citing increasing clashes between state law and church teaching on same-sex relationships. The Diocese of Rockford stopped offering state-funded adoptions...

Opponents of a California law requiring that the contributions of gays and lesbians be taught in public schools failed Wednesday in their attempt to qualify a ballot referendum to repeal the law. The groups wanted to force a vote on Senate Bill 48, the nation's first law requiring that public schools include gay rights milestones and gay and lesbian contributions in social studies lessons. It takes effect in January. Groups that had been circulating signature petitions said they would not meet Wednesday's deadline. Brad Dacus, a spokesman for the Pacific Justice Institute, said his organization and other opponents collected...

An organization representing more than 2,000 of the nation’s 5,000 military chaplains announced Wednesday they would join forces with Catholic Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for Military Service, saying they will not perform same-sex ceremonies. The 2,000 members of the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty, a group of evangelical clergy, are concerned about the Pentagon’s memorandum – issued 10 days after the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal took effect – that authorizes chaplains to officiate “any private ceremony.” A Sept. 20 order lifted the military’s long-standing DADT policy, allowing homosexuals to openly serve in the armed forces. While the...

Much Ado About Nothing?Ledyard, N.Y.'s town clerk may be well within her rights. When New York legalized same-sex marriage in June, Rose Marie Belforti, the town clerk in Ledyard, N.Y., faced a dilemma: Either betray her Christian faith by granting marriage licenses to same-sex couples, or resign. Or at least thatâ€™s the choice same-sex-marriage advocates gave her. Instead, Belforti devised a compromise: She asked a deputy to sign all marriage licenses for her, so the town could obey the law, and she could keep her job.But for Deirdre DiBiaggio and Katie Carmichael, that wasnâ€™t good enough.In August, the lesbian couple...

Conflict between Pentagon and Catholic military chaplains brews over ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ Published: 5:06 AM 06/07/2010 | Updated: 5:04 PM 04/26/2011 By Paul Conner - The Daily Caller Bio | Archive | Email Paul Conner (From left) Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the U.S. military, Pope Benedict XVI, and then-President George W. Bush during the Popes 2008 visit to the United States. The archbishop for the U.S. military spoke out for the first time against the effort to repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell,” setting up a possible conflict between Pentagon brass and the 285 Roman Catholic priests who...

Pentagon makes provisions for same-sex marriage mug.cnn By: CNN Wire Staff (CNN) - Ten days after the military dumped its “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gays and lesbians in the military, the Pentagon has issued new rules allowing military chaplains to perform same-sex marriages....

A Christian schoolboy was suspended from Western Hills High School in Texas for saying he thought that “being a homosexual is wrong.” Can you believe this? The boy’s name is Dakota Ary, and here is his story: According to news reports, during a German class, Dakota’s teacher started talking about religion and homosexuality in Germany, and even posted a picture on the wall of two men kissing. Dakota turned to a friend and said he was a Christian and that “being a homosexual is wrong.” The teacher reportedly overheard his comment and sent him to the principal's office. Then, the...

'I am a girl': The plight of Tammy, the adopted son of two lesbians who started sex change aged 8 because he has always maintained he is a girl 'As soon as we let him put on a dress his personality changed to a very happy little girl thrilled to be alive'A boy who started the process of changing sex at age eight has told how he always knew he was meant to be a girl. Thomas Lobel, who now calls himself Tammy, is undergoing controversial hormone blocking treatment in Berkeley, California to stop him going through puberty...

President Obama of late is making the rounds of aggrieved Democratic constituencies. Next up, a Saturday address to the Human Rights Campaign. "Some LGBT rights supporters are hoping that Obama will take advantage of the opportunity to endorse marriage equality and to denounce initiatives that would ban marriage rights for same-sex couples in Minnesota and North Carolina," reports the Washington Blade. Probably not, for at least two reasons: While Obama has said his stance opposing gay marriage is "evolving," he has given no signal it's fully evolved since he declined to endorse gay marriage in June.

Britain's most prominent pro-family lawyer told activists they had better fight now or it will be too late. His message was blunt: "You've got to stop this now in America while you still can." Diamond compared today's U.S. society to Britain's in 1997. "We thought it was stable; we'd had centuries of religious tolerance," he said. Then in 1997 came a huge change in the political culture. "Human rights, equality, and non-discrimination" became buzz words backed by law, and began to be forcefully enforced against Christians by the courts. Now 14 years later, a British couple cannot be foster parents...